Artemis the Huntress
by J. Dawnwolf
Summary: Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt, made a vow to remain a virgin forever. But Apollo becomes concerned about her latest follower Orion, and forever is a very long time... Apollo's POV.
1. Artemis the Huntress

"What's going on tonight that's so special, Artemis?"

The goddess spun in her chair, silvery-blonde hair whipping high as she heard my voice. All I was doing was standing in the doorway. Smirking, admittedly, but hey – she is my sister. She scowled, holding her silver-backed hairbrush warningly. "Nothing, Apollo. Why should there be? Why do you even think that there is?"

I couldn't resist ticking off responses on his fingers as I gave them. "Firstly, you're inside. Secondly, you're brushing your hair, which is practically unheard of, and thirdly you actually have makeup on the table in front of you."

"I do come inside occasionally." Good grief, she was talking strangely for her – not snappish (which is totally normal, actually) but brisk and trying to get rid of me. It seemed strange that we hadn't even argued in a while. "And I DO brush my hair, though you and the others seem to take no notice of that. It's just that by the time that any of the rest of you come to see me, it's no longer tidy because of my hunting. Plus if I didn't own at least some make-up then I would never be allowed to rest by the goddesses who feel that I don't make the most of my looks.

"I thought that you didn't care about those other goddesses." I sat down, determined to at least talk to her to find out what had cooled her temper so much recently. "Now you are not only keeping the make up, you are actually leaving it in a position to be used?" Before she could stop me, I managed to take the kohl pencil from the table. "Did you use this on yourself or just because you ran out of ink?"

Refusing to answer, Artemis snatched back the pencil with one hand and finished braiding her hair. She tied it with a silver ribbon then turned round to face me properly. "Get out of my room, Apollo; let me live my own life. It's easier to hunt when my hair is tied back, and whenever I am supposed to appear in front of the other gods I actually have to look presentable. Go argue with Hermes or something."

Ah, yes, Hermes and I do argue a lot actually. I was the original god of playing tricks until our dear half-brother turned up and took my place. It's not that we aren't alike – we're so alike that we squabble like a pair of kids. It's just embarrassing when Artemis goes on about it.

"I hope that I don't hear my name in vain." We both turned at the sound of the voice at the window. Hermes was calmly leaning on the window frame, chin leaning on his folded arms, wing-sandalled feet stretched out lazily behind him. His hat had slipped to a rakish angle, slightly over one eye; unfortunately, it suited him.

"What is this, a party or my room?" Artemis growled.

Hermes's smile didn't even slip as he pushed his hat back with that damn caduceus. I began to wonder very quickly after making the swap whether the flute was worth it, but there's no going back on it now. "Hey, someone said that Apollo was coming looking for you, so I came straight here. 'Poll," he turned to me instead, "Zeus wants to talk to you. That business about Daphne…" he didn't finish the sentence.

_Just because you've never been told off about any of your flings._ I growled in my head, thinking of Hermes's many children. He was looking to follow in the footsteps of our father, though he was not married. There are rumours about him looking to marry the human princess Dryope, but no marriage between a human and a god should be so much as considered; it is a foolish and pointless waste of a short time.

"Ugh, I never was his favourite, was I?" I groaned, turning to leave. Zeus would not want to be kept waiting.

It wasn't my fault about Daphne, no matter what people say. Eros – and, I swear, I'll get him for this some day – decided to cause some trouble with those arrows of his. Shot me with gold, just to get me back for a flippant comment about the arrows, and made me fall in love with a woman just as cold to men as my sister Artemis. Her father chose to turn her to a tree instead – the same father who had granted her chastity. Without my sister's decision putting ideas into women's heads, there would be far fewer of these 'scandalous' stories.

"Talking of my sister…" I stopped in the corridor as I heard something quite strange. Artemis was singing – yes, she can sing quite well, don't think I'm being rude about it – and not only that, but singing some strange human love song. She would sing with my Muses, but never of love. What is going on with the most famously chaste goddess?


	2. Apollo Explains

I probably ought to go back and do some explaining. My name is Apollo, and I'm one of the twelve gods of Olympus. Artemis – my elder twin, as she never lets me forget – is also an Olympian. Our father is, of course, the god Zeus. As for what Hermes said – yes, I've chased a few women in my time, but I'm not as bad as him and nowhere near as bad as my father. The whole incident with Daphne was no fault of mine anyway.

My sister, Artemis, on the other hand, is one of the three maiden goddesses – arguably, the most famous of them at that. She decided this at the age of three, and therefore asked Zeus to make her immune to Eros's arrows.

Ever since, she's spent most of her time running around the woods in a short tunic, with the nymphs and dogs, hunting. Any man who has crossed her has met a painful end. Take Acteaon, for example – no, I mean it, take him. He got lost in the woods and accidentally stumbled across my sister bathing. She turned him into a stag and let him get ripped apart by his own dogs, taking no notice of the fact that he was my grandson and that I was not impressed. She doesn't pay attention to anybody's opinion – especially mine, trust me. Her temper is famous around Olympus, and I'm normally on the receiving end; when we argue, she calls me a rampaging idiot and I call her a stuck-up ice maiden – neither name fully deserved, I might add.

Except she's been acting strangely recently. I'm used to hearing stories about her nymphs and other followers, only she's been mentioning one of them more than usual recently. His name? Orion.

This Orion isn't exactly Mr Perfect, either. He's mortal, for a start, but got mixed up in the affairs (hah) of the Gods some time ago. He fell in love with a mortal princess, Merope, then one night he got drunk and tried to rape her. He was caught, and blinded, but Hephaestus took pity on him and helped him – he walked East until the rays of the sun healed him. As I'm God of the sun and of healing, this was how I met him. I didn't think any more of it – for a while.

My sister met him after he startled some of her nymphs while blundering around the forest like a typical mortal. The seven nymphs, the Pleides as they were called, worked themselves into a state running away from the nosy hunter and called for Artemis to help. She obliged in the only way that she really could at the time – she turned them into stars and placed them in the sky. That's now the constellation that you mortals now call the Seven Sisters got there.

This was all perfectly normal behaviour by all concerned – until my sister actually forgave Orion for scaring her nymphs. He'd be about the first person _ever_ that she has forgiven, but maybe she was just having one of her once-in-a-century good days. He is a good hunter, that I must admit, and they have since become hunting companions; he is now one of her followers.

Maybe I'm assuming things, but it does seem to be when she's meeting up with him that she takes all of this trouble over her appearance. Maybe my sister did take that vow of hers to be a maiden forever, and maybe she is immune to Eros's arrows – but Eros is only responsible for one-way love, rather than mutual love. Anteros is responsible for that – and as far as I can recall, nothing was said about his arrows when Zeus made the promise.

And forever is a very long time.


	3. Orion

"Fabulous." I threw another stone into the sea and watched it skim away. "Bloody fabulous."

Zeus had given me a right dressing-down over the 'disgrace' that was The Daphne Story. Blimey, no-ones ever going to forget it, are they? Mind you, the one person that I would expect to be taunting me with every embarrassing detail would be my sister.

Artemis, of course… that was who I was waiting for, on the beach and not happy despite the sunshine and the fact that the sea was calm. The reason for my annoyance was not only the rollicking I had received from Zeus about the whole Daphne Incident (apparently, it's 'giving the Gods a bad name.' After his behaviour? Great) but the fact that my sister was monumentally late even by her standards.

Whenever I was supposed to escort her anywhere, I would tell her that we had to meet up an hour earlier than we actually did – then turn up when I had to and wait for her a little longer. It was the only way to get her anywhere on time, and none of the other Gods had realised yet how I managed it. Someday they were going to get wise, but until then I had the upper hand when it came to dealing with her.

I sat down on the sand, letting the water lap at my feet, and tried not to think about how late we were going to be for the council today. After my disagreement with Zeus earlier (perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned some of his own conquests) it would be the last thing that my standing needed.

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

I was concentrating so hard on not thinking that I very nearly didn't hear the voice on the beach behind me. As I twisted, everything seemed to slow as I only managed to take in what I saw one item at a time.

A general, milling mass of hunting hounds, a noticeably number of them the silver-white colour that my sister always insisted on; two chariots, one definitely Artemis's, the other a human one with the spear-stand full; my sister, her arm through Orion's as they wandered amiably down the beach, talking between themselves.

"I need to go," I could just about catch Artemis's words, "I promised that I'd meet Apollo here and he's probably more than a bit annoyed with me now. I'm late."

Before either of them could see me, I flipped over onto my back and pulled my hat down over my eyes, feigning sleep.

"Alright," Orion replied grudgingly, "but we'll meet here again, tomorrow?"

There was a moment's pause. "I can't do tomorrow." Artemis admitted finally; "If I dodge the nymphs for one more day then they'll start to get suspicious."

"Those bloody nymphs… Mind you, I suppose they have a right to get a bit annoyed after the vows that they made when they chose to follow you."

I gritted my teeth against Artemis's silvery laugh and forced myself not to react. "Oh, you are ridiculous at times." She replied. There was a moment's silence, and I could barely stand not twisting round to see what was going on. "The day after tomorrow, here. Happy now?"

"Not quite."

This time I couldn't help but look round as discreetly as possible when they went quiet again. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe a awkward moment of silence, or a formal handshake as they parted as two hunters happy with a days work. I did not expect Orion to lean over and kiss my sister on the forehead, and for her to stroke his cheek before she turned around.

I shut my eyes again and listened as Orion gathered his hounds together, harnessed his horses again and set off along the firmer ground at the top of the beach. Artemis watched him go in silence, as far as I could tell, then turned and almost tripped over me as I lay on the beach.

"Whoops!" she said, "Sorry, 'Poll."

I dusted sand off my tunic and stood up. "You took your time turning up. What time is it, anyway?" I added suspiciously.

"I'm not quite sure. Does it matter?" Artemis smiled as if the incident with Orion had never occurred. "Father is used to us turning up late to the councils anyway, or at least cutting it fine, so I'm sure he'll forgive me this once. Come on, let's take the chariot."

"You think I intended to walk?" I didn't mention that Zeus would probably eat me alive if I turned up late one more time. "Come on, let's try and make up some time."

And try and work out what's going on between you and the mortal.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n I apologise in advance for the lack of jewellery-related accuracy in the following chapter. I also apologise fully for the fact that this has been so long in the updating. Schoolwork creeps up on you, doesn't it? Oh well, here's the part that I missed out first time round.  
**

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

I didn't think about what happened with Artemis and Orion for a week. I mean it – it looked to just be a one off. She went back to meeting up with her nymphs most days instead, stopped talking about him and went back to her wild-looking self; her hair was suddenly tousled and her skin free of make up. We argued twice and she stopped singing those silly songs. I relaxed.

I know that the time was exactly a week because, although most of us don't care much for the days if the week, Zeus always holds councils on the same day of every human week – but at irrational hours, just to keep us on our toes. So I realised that it was the day of the next council when Artemis began acting strangely.

The fact that she had returned to the house earlier and slunk off to her room was down to the other Goddesses. No, I wasn't sure why she was finally listening to them either, but apparently if she turned up looking as bad as usual then she was going to be ordered straight back out. Personally, I didn't think that it was fair, but it's an explanation.

I sighed and readied myself to knock on the door and tell her that we really were going to be late if she didn't get her act together, and froze mid-action.

"♪ When he left me… On the brink of the storm…♫"

_Ignore the singing. _I commanded myself furiously, knocking on the door perhaps a little more sharply than I would have done any other day. "Artemis? If I'm late one more time then Father will eat me. I'm not joking this time."

Rather than snap back or ignore me, she laughed at the feeble joke (yes, I can admit my faults) and opened the door. She was _glowing_. Yes, glowing. Artemis. I couldn't believe it myself.

"Give me a moment." She said brightly, and stepped back to her dressing table for a moment. I watched, utterly speechless, as she preened her white-blond hair one last time and then spun to face me. Her smile was dazzling. "What do you think?"

"Er…" I couldn't stop myself talking nonsense "You look good but… why ask?"

She froze, hands still on her shoulders, and seemed to deflate slightly. "No reason." She picked up her cloak and swung it around her shoulders, then pushed past me to the door, suddenly cold. She snapped her hand around the doorknob and I shied slightly, fearing that she would start on me before we got through the council – or even the door.

"Sorry." I muttered, not quite knowing what I was apologising for.

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

"Apollo."

Hermes was lounging on the windowsill again, this time of my room. I ignored him and tried to keep reading my book, seeing the words but not taking in the sentences.

"What's up with Artemis?" He climbed in through the window and took his hat off, looking serious and not at all like his usual self. I finally looked up. "She was in a stress at the beginning of the council, then left as if her own hounds were behind her with this big grin on her face. Did you know where she was going?"

"No." Putting the book down, I stood up off the bed and looked him in the eye. "But you do, I take it, from the look on your face."

He started spinning his hat on one finger, showing his uncertainty. "The whole of Olympus is alive with rumours," he admitted, "and I was running an errand for Zeus – as usual – when I saw her. She was in the forests, but not with her nymphs. She was wandering around on foot with that human, Orion."

My blood ran cold. All of the stories about him and Eos cam back to the forefront of my mind, and I think that Hermes could see on my face exactly what I was thinking. All the men who had tried anything with my sister before had died, usually very painfully, but I didn't trust Orion all the same…

"I don't think that you're sister would do that, 'Poll," it sounded as if he was trying to reassure me – or himself.

"She wouldn't," I replied grimly, throwing down the book and looking around for my sandals, "but I wouldn't put it past Orion to try."

I was just tugging my sandals on, wrestling with the straps as my fingers seemed to turn into thumbs, when I heard the door to the house flung open. Hermes and I froze, looked at each other, then almost fell over ourselves scrambling towards the door. Hermes beat me, the little _bugger_, but I pushed him out of the way and into the corridor.

We were right. It was Artemis, spinning and closing the door behind her, leaning on it for a moment before she saw us.

"Boys!" she said in surprise. Hey, it's my house as well, and even if you are older than both of us, it doesn't give you a right to patronise us. "You're in, Apollo!"

I had to fight the urge to start teasing her about something herself. It wasn't the time to do so – no matter how much she irritated me by pretending to be shocked that I was in. "You sound surprised." I answered dryly as she passed us.

She turned to face us both just before she entered her own room, "Well, nice to see you both again." _Did you not see us at the council? Or are you someone else just pretending to be my sister? _"But I'm shattered. See you in the morning." Still smiling, she disappeared from view.

"Well, that settles something." Muttered Hermes, a glint of something like mischief in his eyes. As usual.

I snapped. "Settles _what?_" Grabbing the unfortunate messenger by the shoulder of his tunic, I slammed him back against the wall. "You'd better tell me what you've worked out, fly-boy, or I will personally put that kerykerion somewhere even the great God Zeus won't be able to find it. Even if he wanted to!"

Hermes gulped. He probably thought that I meant the threat fully, and his mind was working out places that the kerykerion could end up. It was only a moment before the look on my face made him realise that there really wasn't a choice about telling me. "She was wearing a ring. A silver one, on her left hand."

I let him slide down the wall to his feet. "Artemis wears a lot of silver, you berk," I replied. Even though my mind was whirring, knowing that Artemis wears only certain silver jewellery, and not when she went out.

"A ring?" Hermes asked, prying my fingers away from his shoulder. "You know as well as I do that she wouldn't wear that for the hell of it, 'Poll."

I knew what he as thinking. I just didn't want to admit, didn't want to link the human – the _mortal_ – thing for giving rings as a sign of betrothal to my sister. Or Orion.


	5. Chapter 5

Artemis? Wearing a ring? NO way. She will occasionally wear jewellery, but its normally it's a necklace, tiara or something similar, showing her allegiance to the moon – and to her own maidenhood, by making sure that it was a crescent.

I paced back an forth among the room, knowing that Artemis would be quite happily asleep – possibly snoring as she's never had anybody to dissuade her from it – and dreaming of whatever it is that daft sister of mine dreams about. Probably hunting and 'mundane' (for her) doings.

Could Orion have dared to propose? Would she have accepted? Or was it just a gift that only happened to fit that finger? My mind was swirling with questions that I couldn't find the answers for.

To many a person, my fretting would have seemed strange. She's only my sister – not even my YOU NGER sister – and she's strong enough to look after herself. She's proved well enough that she doesn't need a man to look after her – that she doesn't need the company of men at all. So why was I worrying about her?

It isn't all a façade, I can promise you; what Artemis shows of herself is perfectly real. It's just that even the immortals change, partially because we've got more time for it than mortals have, but my sister half won't no matter what happens. It's important to her identity as a Goddess to be a maiden: Gods and Goddesses are defined by what mortals see of them, and if they don't meet their role, then they just… fade. Not die exactly, but get replaced by another more-worshipped deity and disappear from the humans' minds. They stop appearing around Olympus or wherever their home is and aren't seen again. What about Uranus after Cronos took over? Exactly – he 'faded' and now mortals hardly remember him.

So Artemis can't change, because a maiden goddess is what she is. If there is something there, then it has to be stopped. Whatever the cost in the short term, in the long it will be worth it for Artemis's own sake. I can't let her get too close to the mortal hunter – I just _can't_.

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

Hermes must have thought that I was losing it. Lost it, actually, from the look on his face. I would have thought that he would have understood what I meant when I said that it was for Artemis, but he just stood there with his green eyes full of disbelief and his mouth hanging open.

"You don't need to do fish impressions." I told him curtly across the table.

He seemed to realise that he was staring and shook his head instead. "Apollo, I can't believe that I just heard you right. You want to make sure that your sister doesn't fall in love?"

"I want to make sure that my sister remains herself," I replied, "and if that means not letting her become close to Orion, then so be it."

"Stop giving me ridiculous replied that do not answer my question!" He slammed the kerykerion onto the table as he stood up and glared at me. "Long and short, you are refusing your sister the chance to fall in love! How can you even think of it?"

"And you know everything about love then, you philandering little cheat, hmm?" I snapped back, irritated even in the same instant that he had goaded me to a fight again. "Running around after women, taking after our father for that matter, and already with several kids to your name–"

"And did _I _go chasing after women who kept running? With the whole Daphne incident still fresh in everybody's mind, everyone will still think that you are still sore and that's why you're trying to keep Artemis and Orion apart!"

I didn't even dignify the comment with an answer. Getting off the subject now would simply waste time that I was worried I didn't have with my tempestuous sister. "Hermes, this is not what I asked you to talk about. The truth is this: I need your help to keep an eye on my sister. Got that?" I swallowed my pride as I said the words. "I just need you to keep an eye on her – bump into her when message carrying, just generally watch out."

"No promises?" Hermes still looked unconvinced.

"No," I sighed, "no promises. This is my problem – well, I'm making it mine. Your part is optional – but keeping your mouth shut is not, and don't you dare forget it!" I added quickly, knowing his agile mind.

"Fine, " he put back on his hat, "but I hope that this isn't just because you look down on humans more than the rest of us. You don't need to think of humans as inferior, you know – think of how much we actually owe them." He turned and left before I could say anything more, disappearing in a flicker of winged heels. Were all of my siblings losing their mind, or had Aphrodite worked out how to put something into the water?

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

"Athena," I said cautiously, "I need to know something."

"So you chose the goddess of wisdom? Dicey choice, Apollo."

I ignored the wry smile on her lips. "Do you know what's going on with Hermes?" I knew that the last thing I needed was to be trying to sort out two of my siblings, but all the same I needed him to help me. "He's acting all strange at the moment – disappearing off down to earth whenever he can get the chance as well."

"You don't know?" Athena asked delightedly, fixing me with her blue eyes. She pushed her helmet back slightly, making me wait for the news, until she could see that I was getting impatient. "If you think that it's anything to do with threatening to – and I quote – 'put the kerykerion somewhere even the great God Zeus won't be able to find it' then you're wrong. He's found himself another romance instead: the human princess Dryope."

"So that's why he was muttering about what we owe to mortals." Groaning, I sat down again. Why did the whole of Olympus seem to be conspiring against me? "I trust that you aren't joining in the whole let's-go-gooey over mortals thing?"

Athena sighed. "Virgin goddess, Apollo. Remember that."

"That doesn't always seem to be wholly stuck to," I sighed, "have you heard what my sister is playing at?"

"Which sister?"

"Artemis, my full sister." _Yes, thank you Zeus, I have a lot of half-siblings._ I knew that saying that was just enough to pique Athena's curiosity. "She's got a new follower…"

She nodded. "Orion. Yes, I know. Personally, I'd not be concerned about either her or Hermes. She's very stubborn when it comes to her maidenhood – you know that, all of Olympus knows that – and, if I may speak freely, Hermes has been through enough romances to rival Aphrodite." She paused. "Including Aphrodite herself, if I remember correctly."

I laughed. She always remembered correctly, making her an effective but unlikely person to ask for the latest stories on Olympus. It _has_ to be the owl, I decided, bringing her the messages.

But what worried me was that she didn't seem as sure as usual as she talked about my sister. Artemis was stubborn, that's definitely true enough – and most of the time, she is stubborn enough to do the exact opposite of what everybody else says.

**A/n – Argh, I'm so sorry that this may be a little rough-and-ready, and if there are mistakes then feel free to spot them out. However, please remember that I'm putting this update up a day early and it was a little rushed. Hopefully, updates will continue at one a week, but I can't be too sure.**

**Merry Christmas!**


	6. Facing the Facts

"She'll never forgive you if you so much as lay a finger on him."

Wise words, Hermes, wise words. He'd just managed to say exactly what I knew and didn't want to hear – not that Orion should not be touched, but that Artemis would kill me if he was.

"Then what am I to do?" I asked. Yes, I'll be quite honest: as time went on, I had become more and more worried about my sister until I decided I had to do something about Orion. _To_ Orion.

The words 'let her get on with it' were on the tip of his wisecracking tongue, I could tell, but faded when I glared at him. "Er…" he suggested blankly.

"Fabulous help you are, Hermes." Later apologies would follow for my growling at him in that instant. "I don't _like_ having to do this to my sister, but it's just necessary. For once in her cussed little life, somebody else needs to do something for her."

"She'll still never forgive you."

"I KNOW that, you half-witted little tit!"

Hermes looked hurt, turned, and left without saying another word to me. Maybe I shouldn't have shouted at him, but skipping like a broken record**1 **did not help my train of thought. The fact was that I was about to turn nasty on Orion – and my sister would never again talk to me if she find out even what I was planning.

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

"Apollo, really," came the voice from beyond the door, "I cannot come out for any sort of picnic today. I'm… busy."

"Come on, Artemis, I swear I won't lay a hand on any of your nymphs. You know I wouldn't dare anyway." I had my fingers crossed on both hands, praying silently under my breath for Zeus to be good to me for once. Who _he _prays to I have no idea. "I've got no problem with any of your followers." _You lying little bastard, _I said to myself.

There was a pause. "'Poll, honest, I can't come out with you today."

"Am I just going to have to stand here and hold the door closed until you give up?"

I grabbed hold of the door handle and leant back so all my weight was on it. She rattled the door in its frame but couldn't get it to open. "Very funny. When I get out of here, I am going to hit you. You realise that?"

"And that gives me a reason to let you out?" I leant harder away from the door, relieved that she was having a go at me again. "Or a reason to keep you in." There was no response. "Artemis? Arty?"

The nickname, if nothing else, should have made her snap. But the door stopped moving and it all went quiet from inside. Curiosity got the better of me. "Artemis?" I opened the door and looked inside – no Artemis, just an open window. "Have you climbed out the window, Artemis?" I hurried over and looked out.

"Gotcha." My sister stepped out from behind the door and disappeared out of my sight – but not before I could see that she'd dressed up again.

o-o-o-O-O-O-o-o-o

I accidentally kicked a tree stump and cursed under my breath, shaking my foot in the air and probably looking very silly. Carrying around a pack full of food didn't help either, and I was praying that I would see Artemis and – I suspected – Orion before they saw me.

An arrow shot past me at head height, just to my left, and I dropped to the ground just as another one went through the air where my head had been a moment before and disappeared into a hole in a tree.

"Good shot, 'Temi!"

Temi? I stood up and walked into the clearing, startling the two hunters there. Artemis had just released the second arrow, but jumped at the sight of me and sent it ricocheting off a tree. She glared at me even as I smiled broadly.

"Artemis! Fancy meeting up with you." I indicated the pack slung over one shoulder. "I couldn't let the food go to waste, so was going to eat by myself. But as you two are here, would you like to join me?"

I was fairly sure that my sister was going to tell me – in no uncertain terms – where I could put the picnic basket, when Orion interrupted. I never thought that I'd be grateful for him opening his great mouth, but I had to admit defeat for once.

"We'd love to, wouldn't we?" he said heartily, looking at my sister for support. With both of us looking politely at her, she couldn't exactly do anything but agree.

She nodded. "Come on, then. We can at least go down to the beach and sit on the sand, can't we?"

As I turned to lead, she probably thought that I didn't see Orion try and put his hand around her waist before she hit him on the arm. At least she's acting back to normal around me.

Even if it won't be for long…

**A/n – 1 I don't think that the ancient Greeks had records (correct me if I'm wrong, by all means) but this was the best simile in my head at the time. I'm back to my old tricks of writing just before the deadline runs out! **

**Happy New Year to all!**


	7. Learn to Love, Learn to Leave

**A/n – Sorry that this took two weeks, rather than one, but as the "showdown" as it were, I felt that this deserved more time. Apologies for the delay - especially since I managed to temporarily load the wrong chapter, one from a differnet story. Thank you to bloodie for pointing this out! **

**Thank you to all of those who have reviewed me here: adurere (particular thanks for repeated reviews), Aurora Spirit, Astatine, inyyashafan001, jjj, literature lover, Zoë, heather, Nollie Violet Weasley, Archer Yi, 1madcat, bloodie and ArtemisEAldur. Thank you also for not being the dreaded "anonymous" who has not so far graced me with a visit. So here's the last part of the fic – and I hope that Artemis does not seem OoC.**

"What the hell do you think you are playing at, Apollo?"

Never mind the innocent smile on my sister's face as Orion showed off, swimming far out in the sea, she was very angry with me. Even if the venomous hiss in her voice wasn't enough, she had been determinedly trying to find an excuse to leave ever since we had got here. Thankfully Orion seemed more than happy to stay in the sea for a while.

This was getting harder and harder for me to bring myself to do.

"Nothing, Artemis," I replied innocently, letting the sea breeze ruffle my hair, "or should I say 'Temi?" The question was ignored. Touchy subject, obviously. "I just thought that it would be a pity to see the food go to waste, and none of your nymphs were willing to join me…"

"You went talking to my nymphs?" She whipped round, suddenly furious with me. Some things never change. "How many times have I told you not to go talking to them!"

"I was looking for you." I shrugged. Orion had dragged himself out of the sea and was wandering back towards us, sandals in one hand, his tunic dripping wet.

Artemis was too angry with me to bluff around Orion. "I'll just be a minute," she said calmly, getting up and walking towards the forest. Orion looked after her with confusion on his face, then seemed to decide on something and sat down next to me.

"It's nice to meet you again, Apollo," he said, "since 'Temi wouldn't introduce us, I wondered if you two were having an on-running argument or something, but she said that she just didn't think that we'd get on. It wasn't fair. You're a nice enough bloke."

_Bloke. _ The pally way that he said the word was enough to rankle. The fact that I was 'nice **enough**' wasn't exactly endearing me too him either. "How far out can you walk with your head still above water, Orion?" I feigned interest.

He laughed, hearty but somehow slightly patronising. Gods, I'd forgotten how much this mortal annoyed me. "As far as I want, Apollo. Gift from my father, you know."

"Could you walk out… to that group of rocks, say?" I pointed to a group of rocks so far out that they barely kicked up any wash.

"Do you want me to prove it? Say – bet your best hunting hound to the word."

Something in me felt tight with what I was about to say. That I was willing to take a bet with a man whom I intended… not to kill, not that… but…

"Done." I said firmly.

He nodded and strode certainly back into the sea. I saw him walking out, further and further, his shoulders disappearing underwater but his head merely shrinking until it was a lack speck. Slightly smaller than the rest of the rocks as he reached it. I heard Artemis return just as he came alongside them.

"Where's Orion?" she asked.

"Went for a walk." Pulling my bow out of my pack and standing up, I knew just how to get her to reach for hers. "I do hope that your aim hasn't slipped because of the time that you've been spending with him, dear sister. What of a contest to check – say, those rocks out there?" I pointed to the rocks by where Orion was standing.

She flicked her hair haughtily. "I could hit the smallest of them!"

"Prove it." I released the arrow that I had nocked and watched it sail gracefully into the cluster of rocks. It hit one of the larger ones, bounced off, and fell into the water. Orion flinched, but it was difficult to see the movement in the bouncing waves.

Artemis laughed. "Some archer my brother proves himself to be! The wine from the meal must have gone to your head!" She drew the string back to her sternum and settled her hand there for a moment, turned slightly towards the rocks. I saw her take a deep breath and hold it as she aimed precisely and pulled her fingers away from the string.

Time seemed to slow around me. I could have stopped her. I could have stepped in front of her to take the arrow and – as an immortal – survive. I could have fired one of my own arrows to knock hers out of the air.

But I didn't. I watched it fly, fast and true, and stab in to Orion's head. My sister's aim had never been beaten.

"What happened? Where has the rock –" her eyes flew wide as she realised. "Apollo! You bastard! You knew that he was out there and you let me shoot…" she flew at me, all fists and feet, knocking me to the ground. I didn't even try to fight her back, just gently held her at arm's length until she began to sob instead, great shuddering sobs like a child. I could not remember the last time that she cried.

After a couple of moments I saw Orion's body wash up onto the shore. The arrow had cleanly pierced his skull, and there was no look of pain on his face. He looked, well, peaceful. It made it easier.

I put my arm around Artemis's shoulders and, for once, she did not push me away. I didn't even bother to pick up the blanket that we stood beside, or the food still half-out of the pack at our feet. I could hear cries in the forest, dryads calling out that there had been a hunting accident, and before long the nymphs would arrive.

I never forgave myself for what I did to my sister that day. I could only try and persuade myself – and those who hear the story – that I acted with reason.

The End


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